Roller skate



July 4, 1939 I c ECTQN 2,164,805

ROLLER SKATE Filed March 16, 1938 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 6152c forgmmm ATTORN EYS Patented July 4, 1939 UNI TED STAT E S; PAT EN FF ICE;

ROLLER SKATE Clarence; B.- Ecton, Slater, Mo.

Application Marchlfi', 1938; Serial No 196,293

-Claims.. (Cl. 280:--11.26)

This invention relatesrto roller skates and has are provided for attaching the rear truck, section. for its principal object to provide an improved to the shoe in use. However, any other approved; extensible structure havingv therequisitestability attaching means may be substituted in place loft for safety and at the same timebeing flexible to said straps 24, 25.

certain relative compensating movement of the The front truck section further includesiafl 6* adjusted parts of the skate in use. bracket element 26,. the upper body portion of.

With the foregoing and other. objectsto be which is in the form of a rectangular bar which is attained, as will hereinaftervmore fully appear, riveted at its upper end, as at 21; to the. under. the invention consists inthe novel'general strucside of the sole plate 12 at the rear end "thereof;

ture. and in the particular parts and. combinasaid bar having a forwardly extending horizontalclo tions and arrangements of parts thereof as set tubular arm 28, the :bore of said extension 28 beforth in the following description and pointedout ing screw threaded, as at 29; to receivetlie oorre: in the appended claims, reference/being had to spondingly threaded'endportion 30 of .a coupling the accompanying drawings illustrating a prescrew element which is provided at its.middle, ferred practical adaptation of the invention, in portion with a knurled-annular enlargement or 1554 which collar 3| or other suitable meansforrotatingit. Figure 1 is a top. plan view of the assembled The opposite end'portion of'the coupling screw skate structure; member is reversely screw threaded; as at 30C, Figure 2 is an inverted plan view; and received in the correspondingly internally to Figure 3 is a longitudinal vertical sectiontake-n threaded portion 29 of a tubular extension2'8 on or about the line 3-3 of Figurel; and of a bracket 26' identical with the bracket .26,

Figure 4 is a transverse section on the line 4-4 except as to the reverse screw threading oijthei of Figure 3. bore 29', and said bracket member 26" being In the preferred embodiment of the inVention riveted to the under side of the=fOrWa dPDD 23 as illustrated in the drawings, the skate comprises of the eel plate I as at 2T. a front truck section l0 and a rear truck section Secured to the middle portions of both the ll,the former comprising a sole plate l2lprovided front and rear truck plates and re ke at its forward portion with a transverse solesupp rt ra k s 3 a comprising a pai clamping means including a pair of oppositely of plates 33, 34 whose intermediate portions. so disposed slide bars I3, l4, mountedon the under eet fiatw et a d y be r ed, el d 39 side of the plate 12 and providedat their outer or otherwise secured, if desired. 'A's shown the ends with upturned lug portions l 5, the end porupp r d p i s f these plat s 33, 3 are uttions l5 of which latter. are turned inwardly turned, as at 35, and riveted, as at 36, to the under to overhang the marginal portion of the shoe sides of the respective plates [2 and 22, the lower, sole. These clamping bars l3, I4', areo f the type portions 31 of said plates 33," 34, being oppositely usually employed for the attachment of roller bowed to form a cylindricalbearing to receive a skates to shoe soles and in themselves'form no swivel bolt 38, which latter is threadedat its part of the present invention except as they eninner end, as at 39, and receivedin the outer end. ter generally into the structure. Therefore, it is portion of the bracket extension 28 or 28, as the 49 sufficient to merely further describe that said c e m y be. Th extreme l w end p i n 40 bars are slidably fitted in strap-like clips or of the plates 33; 34, are turned outwardly at the bracket members 16 riveted; as at 11, to the under under side of the cylin -p side of the plate l2 and that the inner ends of ticn 31 and thence flanged downwardly as at; said bars l3, M, are formed into depending lugs to provide a rectangular'seat portion for a rubber I 8 which are apertured and respectively screwcushioning and compensating block 42 which is. threaded to receive the oppositely'screw-threaded nte pos d between Said Seating portion t e portions I9, IQ of an adjusting screw which is supporting bracket'32 and an axle 'bearing'clip provided at one end with the usual polygonal key- 43 having'up-turned ears 44 overlapping the opreceiving portion 20, said adjusting screw having posi-te ends of the bearing 31 and'provided with a reduced middle portion 2lengaged in'a notched aligned apertures for the reception f t e'secur 5 1 lug 2! on the under side of the plate I2} ing'bolt 3Bon which the bearing clip has limited- The rear truck section II includes the heel rocking movement 'yieldably resisted by saidrubplate 22which, as shown, is' provided at its rear her block 42. portion with an arcuate upstanding flange 23, E'xtending'through the-bearing clip 43'of'bothv in? which latter the usual" pair of"straps -24, 25,; the front and rear truck sections are-axles-45- on= the opposite end portions of which the wheels 46 are journaled. As shown, the respective wheels 46 are made in two half sections, each comprising a hub portion 41 attached to the rim portions 48 by webs 49. As shown, the wheel rims are arcuate in cross section and have rubber tires 50 of correspondingly round cross section fitted therein, the hub portions 41 being cylindrical and provided with roller bearings 5| which ride directly on the shaft 45. Washers 52 are provided on the shaft 45 between the bearing 43 and the inner ends of the hubs 47 of the wheels 46, said washers 52 serving not only as end thrust spacers for the wheel hubs 47 but also to retain the roller bearings within the hubs, while similar washers 53 are provided on the adjacent outer end portions of the shaft 45.

By adjusting the connecting screw element lengthwise in the tubular extensions 28, 28 of the bracket members 26, 26 the two truck sections I0 and II are moved toward or from each other according to the direction in which the adjusted screw is rotated, which adjustment is maintained after the foot plate l2 and heel plate 22 are attached to the shoe in use, and at the same time there is a limited rocking movement permitted the bearing clips 43 of the axle shafts 45 about the axes of the swivel bolt 38, which movement is resiliently opposed by the rubber blocks 42 so that there is sufficient inherent flexi bility in the structure to compensate for relative foot and leg movement of the skater and which is of advantage in controlling the skate in use, and yet the general structure and particular means of longitudinal adjustment of the two truck sections of the skate is such that ample strength and stability is afforded for safety. So, too, easy operation and speed is attained with elimination of noise by the novel provision of the roller bearings and rubber tires for the wheels.

Obviously, the structure admits of considerable modification within the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims. The invention, therefore, is not limited to the specific construction and arrangements shown.

what is claimed is:

1. A roller skate comprising front and rear truck sections, the front section including a soleplate and the rear section heel-plate, each plate having a wheel-supporting bracket and an adjusting bracket having a horizontal longitudinal tubular extension in cooperative relation to said wheel supporting bracket, said tubular extensions of the adjusting brackets being rever ely screw-threaded interiorly, an adjusting screw having reversely screw-threaded opposite end portions fitted in said tub bracket 1::cr-- tions hereby to connect the two truck sections with longitudinal adjustment, and longitudinal swivel bolts connecting the wheel supporting brackets with said tubular bracket extensions.

2. A roller skate comprising separate front and rear truck sections, each section having a depending wheel-supporting bracket, said bracket having a longitudinal bearing portion, an axle clip having opposed lug extensions provided with apertures aligned with the bearing portion of said supporting bracket, a companion bracket having a longitudinal tubular extension in cooperatively opposed relation to said wheel supporting bracket, the bore of said companion bracket extension being aligned axially with said aligned longitudinal bearing of said wheel supthrough said aligned axle clip openings and bearing portion of the wheel supporting bracket and having a screw-threaded engagement at its inner end within the outer end portion of said tubular extension of said companion bracket, and a longitudinal adjusting screw having its opposite end portions reversely screw-threaded and fitted within correspondingly screw threaded meeting end portions of the tubular extensions of the companion bracket members of the front and rear truck sections whereby to adjustably connect the two truck sections to vary the working length of the skate body and wheel base.

3. A roller skate comprising separate front and rear truck sections, each section having a depending wheel-supporting bracket, said bracket having a longitudinal bearing portion, an axle clip having opposed lug extensions provided with apertures aligned with the bearing portion of said supporting bracket, a companion bracket having a longitudinal tubular extension in cooperatively opposed relation to said wheel supporting bracket, the bore of said companion bracket extension being aligned axially with said aligned longitudinal bearing of said wheel supporting bracket and apertures in the lug extensions of said axle clip, a swivel bolt inserted through said aligned axle clip openings and bearing portion of the wheel supporting bracket and having a screw-threaded engagement at its inner end within the outer end portion of said tubular extension of said companion bracket, a longitudinal adjusting screw having its opposite end portions reversely screw threaded and fitted within correspondingly screw threaded meeting end portions of the tubular extensions of the companion bracket members of the front and rear truck sections whereby to adjustably connect the two truck sections to vary the working length of the skate body and wheel base, and resilient means for yieldably resisting transverse rocking movement of the axle clips on said swivel bolts.

4. A roller skate comprising a front truck section and a rear truck section, the front truck section including a sole-plate having a transverse sole-clamping device thereon, said rear truck section including a heel-plate having provision for its attachment to the adjacent portion of a shoe, the front truck section having a depending bracket at its rear portion provided with a forwardly extending longitudinal tubular portion and the rear truck section having a similar bracket at its forward portion provided with a rearwardly extending tubular portion, said tubular portions being respectively interiorly screw threaded reversely at their meeting end portions, a screw element having a reversely screw-threaded opposite end portions fitted respectively in the meeting end portions of the tubular extensions of said brackets whereby to adjustably connect said front and rear truck sections, each truck section having a wheel supporting bracket depending substantially from the center of its plate, said bracket having a longitudinal bearing portion near its lower end and a seat portion below said bearing portion, an axle clip having a transverse axle bearing portion, a seat portion above its bearing portion and an opposed pair of lug extensions straddling the lower portion of the wheel supporting bracket and having apertures aligned with the bearing portion of said bracket, an elastic block fitted in the seat portions of said wheel supporting bracket and said axle clip and adapted to yieldably resist relative movement between said bracket and clip,

and swivel bolts respectively inserted through the aligned axle clip apertures and bearing portions of the wheel supporting brackets and with their screw-threaded inner end portions fitted in correspondingly threaded adjacent end portions of the tubular longitudinal extensions of said first mentioned brackets.

5. A roller skate comprising a front truck section and a rear truck section, the front trucksection including a sole-plate having atransverse sole-clamping device thereon, said rear truck section including a heel-plate having provision for its attachment to the adjacent portion of a shoe, the front truck section having a depending bracket at its rear portion provided with a forwardly extending longitudinal tubular portion and the rear truck section having a similar bracket at its forward portion provided with a rearwardly extending tubular portion, said tubular portions being respectively interiorly screw threaded reversely at their meeting end portions, a screw element having reversely screw-threaded opposite end portions fitted respectively in the meeting end portions of the tubular extensions of said brackets whereby to adjustab-ly connect said front and rear truck sections, each truck section having a wheel supporting bracket depending substantially from the center of its plate,

said bracket having a longitudinal bearing portion near its lower end and a seat portion below said bearing portion, an axle clip having a transverse axle bearing portion, a seat portion above its baring portion and an opposed pair of lug extensions straddling the lower portion of the wheel supporting bracket and having apertures aligned with the bearing portion of said bracket, an elastic block fitted in the seat portions of said wheel supporting bracket and said axle clip and adapted to yieldably resist relative movement between said bracket and clip, swivel bolts respectively inserted through the aligned axle clip apertures and bearing portions of the wheel supporting brackets and with their screw-threaded inner end portions fitted in correspondingly threaded adjacent end portions of the tubular longitudinal extensions of said first mentioned brackets, and resiliently tired wheels having an antifriction mounting on axles extended through the transverse bearing portions of said axle clips with interposed washers between said bearing portions and the wheel hubs at the inner sides of the latter and between the outer sides of the hubs and retaining nuts provided on the opposite end portions of the axles.

CLARENCE B. ECTON. 

